Rebecca Rusch: Dirty Kanza 200 Interview :

HomeXXC MagazineBlog

XXC Podcastsxxc.cult:ureXXC Vimeo Page

Race CalendarArchive

XXC Magazine #15XXC Magazine #14XXC Magazine #13XXC Magazine #12XXC Magazine #11XXC Magazine #10XXC Magazine #9XXC Magazine #8XXC Magazine #7XXC Magazine #6XXC Magazine #5

StoreXXC T ShirtsXXC Head WearXXC Sticker PacksPrint XXC

ContactAboutContribute

GearGear: TRP CX9 BrakesGear: Blackburn Dirt Merchant FendersBook Review: Racing Weight by Matt Fitzgerald

enter search terms

You are here: Home » Blog » Gravel » Rebecca Rusch: Dirty Kanza 200 Interview

Rebecca Rusch: Dirty Kanza 200 Interview[ 0 ] June 14, 2012 | XXC Mag

The Dirty Kanza 200 (AKA DK200) is not for the faint of heart, nor for the entry level cyclist. Known to many as the “Ultimate Gravel Grinder,” therace, in its seventh year, has grown from 36 to 400 riders* and has garnered a cult following.

Rebecca Rusch: Dirty Kanza 200 Interview : http://xxcmag.com/archives/6581

1 of 5 6/26/12 7:21 AM

The race course is on public-access gravel and dirt roads, through the Flint Hills region of east-central Kansas. Yep, in the middle of nowhere, rightnext to the boondocks. Riders get zero support save maps, location of hospitals and food and beverage stops. There are three aid stations.

Don’t show up ill prepared – no sag wagon will save you. If you aren’t prepared, they don’t want you there. Ride with a phone.

As an athlete for more than 15 years, Rebecca Rusch has earned World and National titles in a variety of sports such as adventure racing,orienteering, whitewater rafting, cross country skiing and endurance cycling. In her most recent focus on cycling, she has racked up three 24 HourSolo World Championship titles and won the Leadville Trail 100 three times, breaking the women’s record twice. Never one to sit still or do the samething, Rebecca decided to try her luck at ultra-endurance gravel road riding at the DK200. Yes, 200 miles in one day on gravel.

I caught up with Rebecca after she checked this one off the list and nailed a new women’s course record (missing the men’s record by five minutes).She finished 3rd overall just six minutes behind Dan Hughes, three-time DK200 winner, this year’s winner and men’s record holder.

Here’s what she had to say about the race:

Heidi: What is the appeal of this race? It seems rather lonely especially if you popped off the pack. Tell me why I should consider doing it?

Rebecca: I had to be convinced to do this race as well! I didn’t know about the cult following or bike subculture of “Gravel Grinders.” I guess, likeanything, you ride the terrain that you have access to. The Heartland of the US has tons of gravel roads and that’s what they ride out there. I thoughtit would be boring, but it was far from it. This was actually one of the best races I’ve ever done. Who’d have thought that Kansas would have thatmuch to offer? The Flint Hills of Kansas were really pretty and there were so many twists, turns and hills that it didn’t get boring at all. The characterof the gravel was even changing all the time. The appeal of this race is that 200 miles is a long, long way to ride in one day. Like Ironman, 24 hourracing or any other ultra-endurance event, part of the appeal is how hard it is and not knowing if you can finish. I rode much of the race alone, butwas not lonely at all. The pack split up quickly and then it was sort of groups of one or two people and moving through the packs.

The vibe was super fun. The whole town of Emporia, Kansas came out for the event and it was a huge party. It’s a great race with a great vibe. Iwould go back for sure. I don’t say that about all my races.

What was your all day race strategy? Did it stay intact, or did it blow apart and make you reassess?

My race day strategy was to try to stay with the lead peloton for as long as possible. Kansas is known for crazy winds, so I knew I’d move faster in apack than alone. That strategy blew apart after 15 miles when the whole lead pack, including me, missed a turn and went about three miles out ofthe way. Luckily someone realized the mistake early on and we back tracked. Back on course, we had to pass back through the entire group of 400riders. This really splintered the front group and I ended up on my own jumping from group to group and then riding alone for much of the first twolegs. It’s great to have a strategy, but you also have to be flexible enough to change it when that strategy goes out the window. My new strategy wasto push pretty hard to the first aid station at mile 40 to see if I could latch back onto a group and perhaps put a gap on the other women. I didn’t wantto have someone drafting me. From aid station #1 until the end, I was just trying to stay steady and keep my average mph above 15mph. I knew if Icould do that, I would have a decent finishing time. The only other strategies that were constantly on my mind were eating and drinking enough,taking care of myself and being quick in aid stations. This is where the 24 hour racing experience kicked in and I passed a ton of people just bymoving forward instead of stopping for a long time in the pits.

Greg Martin made you a new iPod playlist. Did it give you extra mojo? Do you normally ride with music? If so, does that affect yourcadence at all?

I never race with music because I really like to listen to my bike, my breathing, and the competitors around me. However, a 200 mile gravel race is adifferent beast, so I decided to take music just in case I needed some extra motivation or got bored on course. I train with music sometimes,especially on the indoor trainer, but I definitely don’t rely on it outdoors. I actually loved having a whole new playlist from my boyfriend for 12 hours!He knows what I like and what’s motivating for bike rides since he’s an athlete himself.

Do you skip songs you don’t like?

I didn’t mess with the music at all. I started it at the beginning and let it run. I never once touched the controls. I pulled one ear out anytime I was in agroup or riding with someone because I didn’t want to be rude and wanted to be able to hear bike tires, conversation or anything else. When I wasalone, I put both earbuds in and just kept pedaling. It was a great setup.


2 of 5 6/26/12 7:21 AM

The aid stations were 40 to 60 miles apart. How did you stay hydrated?

Unlike many of the riders, I used a Hydrapak plus one water bottle. Many riders were just using bottles, but I was concerned about the infamousKansas heat and winds. I opted to carry a bit more weight, but stay more hydrated. I think it paid off in the end.

Did you have any flats? That terrain is known for its flinty sharp rocks. What tires did you run?

I had a picture perfect race as far as equipment goes. Yes, the terrain is known for ripping apart tires. One of the lead guys actually had eight flatsthat day! I took advice from multi-time winner and Sunflower Bike and Sport shop owner Dan Hughes about tire choice. It’s always good to getadvice from the locals. He suggested wide cyclocross tires, so I called up the tire experts and Ned Overend at Specialized to talk details and makemy selection. I ended up with a Trigger prototype cyclocross tire. Here are the details: “This is a Trigger (cyclocross tread) we produce in a 38c.Foldable bead, decent amount of tread, rubber and a 60tpi casing. These are smooth riding as well and will have less rolling resistance.”

Was it windy? What was the most challenging weather aspect?

It was unseasonably calm and cool for the race and I was really thankful for that. The heat can get into triple digits at this race and the wind howls. Igot lucky on both fronts and it allowed for record breaking times.

Why on earth did you want to ride your cross bike for this long?

Why not? It was something new and different. I’m always preaching to the women in my SRAM Gold Rusch events to step outside their comfort zoneand try new things, so why shouldn’t I do that as well?

Was this the longest road ride you’ve done in a race situation?

Yes, for sure and definitely the longest ride on a cyclocross bike!

How did this differ from a 24 hour solo?

The nutrition, the pacing, eating on the bike, the mindset, the pits were all very similar to 24 hour solo racing. That was all very familiar. What wasdifferent is that this race was not a lap format. Every mile and every turn was new and unexplored, so there was a whole feeling of going somewhereand wanting to see what was over the next hill. It felt more exploratory in that way than a 24 hour format.

How much tactical racing did you do?


3 of 5 6/26/12 7:21 AM

As I do more bike racing, I’m trying to learn to race tactically instead of just going out and hammering as hard as I can all the time. That can work,but I’m learning that racing smarter, not harder is sometimes the better strategy. Road strategy of drafting definitely came into play for the first milesof the race as I sat behind a bunch of guys much faster than me and sucked their wheels. I didn’t take a pull until the group split apart and I was onmy own. Hopefully this saved energy for the final miles of the race. When I was alone, I still tried to race tactically by keeping my speed steady,putting in harder pushes on the flats and descents and conserving in the wind and on the hills. Experience is something that you cannot fake and Itry to make the most of what I have learned and put it to use when I can. When that fails, I just put my head down and try to push the pedals harder.

Was the competition friendly? Did you work together? I am guessing you were surrounded by men and ahead of the other women.

The athletes were all super friendly, male and female. I think there were only about 40 women in 400 riders, but there were some really great femaleracers there, including last year’s winner, Betsy Shogren. I rode with her for about the first 20 miles, then jumped up to another woman and rodeabout five miles with her. After that, I didn’t see any other women. All of the riders were super nice and willing to share the workload when we gottogether. It’s such a long event that everyone knows they need all the help they can get and it pays to make friends not enemies on the course.

Did you speak before or after the race?

Yep, I did a shop visit and speech at Sunflower Outdoor & Bike Shop in Lawrence, KS. It’s probably the nicest bike shop I’ve ever been to with thehappiest staff in the world. I know the shop owner from previous Specialized dealer events, Leadville races and Specialized rides. He’s a greatathlete and one of the main forces behind convincing me to come to Kansas. He lined up a great crowd for my shop talk. I got to visit a new sponsor,Garmin, and also got to race the Dirty Kanza, so it was a triple whammy!

*In recent days it has been announced that the Dirty Kanza 200 will open up to 1,000 spots in 2013. For more information visitdirtykanza200.com and for more on Rebecca Rusch vistin rebeccarusch.com.

All photos were used with permission of Eric Benjamin. Visit adventuremonkey.com to see his amazing collection of 200 images from this year’s DK200.

Category: Gravel, Interview, Uncategorized

If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.

Subscribe via RSS Feed

Leave a Reply

Name ( required )

Email ( required; will not be published )

Website

If you want a picture to show with your comment, go get a Gravatar.

Submit Comment


4 of 5 6/26/12 7:21 AM

© 2012. All rights reserved. | WordPress | WordPress Themes | XHTML


5 of 5 6/26/12 7:21 AM

Rebecca Rusch: Dirty Kanza 200 Interview :

Documents